An Age-Old Issue

I recall a classroom discussion about the Eskimo habit of leaving the old ones behind to die when they’ve reached the point of being a burden on their family. One girl disagreed with the prevailing expressions of horror. She said maybe they knew they had to sacrifice themselves for – these words were not hers – the common good. Maybe they stayed behind voluntarily and deliberately, she argued. They accepted their time was up.

Do the Eskimo old now kept alive by modern convention bewail the changing culture and materialism of their grandchildren. Socrates was probably not the first but his words are available – civilisation as we understand it depends largely upon the recorded word – to complain about the antics of the young.

My generation is equally foolish. An example. I find it bewildering that many young do not read the paper and or watch or listen to the news. Whether it’s worth watching is another question. But then those young people shake their heads over my lack of interest in texting. My generation helped create the environment in which our youth grow up. When they reach my vintage – as I trust most of them will – I am confident they will then bewail the youth of their day.